Search form

Senate Approves Spending Bill, Reducing Chances of a Shutdown

MOST POPULAR

In a 93-7 vote, the Senate on Tuesday passed a package of spending bills that would boost fiscal 2019 funding for the Defense Department and provide full-year funding for the departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services. Combined, the funding for those departments account for more than 60 percent of annual discretionary spending appropriated by Congress.

The Senate package also would avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month by providing funds through December 7 for departments whose budgets Congress has not yet addressed.

The House is expected to vote on the package next week.

Why it matters: “It is the first time in 22 years that the bills are on track to make it to the president’s desk by the end of the year,” The Wall Street Journal’s Natalie Andrews writes.

As editor in chief, Yuval Rosenberg oversees all aspects of The Fiscal Times' website and email newsletter. His writing has appeared in publications including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, CNNMoney.com, Fast Company, Fortune, Newsweek, Money and Time.